The Greatest Gift To Give
The Greatest Gift To Give is the second studio album by American alternative rock band CC. It was released on January 12th, 2019, just eleven days after their first album ''Makeup Thieves. At the time, there was only one member in the band, that being Jamie Dewolf. It was released for free on YouTube on its original release date and then released on bandcamp on February 23rd, 2019. Both current members of CC agree that ''The Greatest Gift To Give ''is their worst album, although drummer Craig Noblin seems to enjoy it more. Background & recording ''The Greatest Gift To Give was originally named ".-Empty-Crescendo-." and its production began in late November 2018, right after ''Makeup Thieves, and the first song finished instrumentally was the then-title track, ".-Empty-Crescendo-.". Originally, the album was intended to be a double album with a whopping 28 tracks and two "discs", but this was changed last minute. A lot of tracks originally intended to be on the second disc were sequels to songs on Makeup Thieves, with titles like "Shepherd's Return", "Several More Words", and "Instrumental Break II". The first two singles, "Show Up, Stay Here / All Is Lost" and "Parker's Song (Can't Say Anything)" were released on December 12th, 2018 and shortly afterward the Highlights ''EP was released, containing all of the singles from the upcoming album and one song from the second disc, "Highlights". Lyrics and themes Initially, the album was going to be yet another concept album, serving as a sequel to ''Makeup Thieves, hence the song titles on the second disc, but there is no official story. Thematically, ''The Greatest Gift To Give is very similar to Makeup Thieves, most likely because they were intended to be sister albums. It explores themes of love, betrayal, and depression. Music ''The Greatest Gift To Give ''cranks the electronics introduced on Makeup Thieves ''up a bit on songs like "Ghosts" and "I'll Miss You When The Time Comes (But Hate You In The Fall)", but it isn't without its heavier, less electronic moments. ".-Empty-Crescendo-." is almost entirely made up of "acoustic" (software) instruments, and it's a bit of an alt-rock banger. "iwishihadafriend" is a moment similar to "La La La (Sent From Nowhere)" off ''Makeup Thieves, in that its based on an acoustic guitar melody that starts to build gradually. "Infinity" is a song with two different interchanging movements between the verses and the chorus, the verses being a simple, bittersweet guitar and bass chord progression and the chorus being a faster version of the song "Your Alliance Shall Crumble" that eventually made its way onto the deluxe edition of Makeup Thieves. Track listing 1. Warning (Intro) (0:21) 2. .-Empty-Crescendo-. (3:43) 3. The Empty State Of Mind (5:13) 4. I'll Miss You When The Time Comes (Then Hate You In The Fall) 5. Reconcile (5:19) 6. Read The Fine Print, Darlin' (0:16) 7. iwishihadafriend (2:49) 8. Ghosts (3:57) 9. Burn, Forever, Alone (3:15) 10. Loving Still (Interlude II) (0:16) 11. Show Up, Stay Here / All Is Lost (2:44) 12. Infinity (3:06) 13. Epidemic (Final Interlude) (0:14) 14. Parker's Song (Can't Say Anything) (4:54)